Bayworld staff and volunteers have been patrolling the coast to search for Buddy, who has an identification tag on his left flipper.

He also has a microchip, but no tracker.

The Bayworld Oceanarium, which holds penguins and seals bred in captivity or injured in the wild, said it would improve security to keep out intruders.

African black-footed penguins, also known as jackass penguins due to their braying noise, have been rated as endangered since 2010 due to a rapid fall in numbers caused by commercial fishing and shortage of prey.

They are native to Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa, where they are a famous tourist attraction at Boulders Beach near Cape Town.